Carlos Butler made his debut as the starting quarterback for the Bossier Bearkats on Friday night.
And what a debut it was.
The senior completed 21 of 27 passes for 404 yards and five touchdowns in a 39-14 victory against Logansport on the road. The Bearkats improved to 2-1. The Tigers fell to 0-3.
“That was a real good win right there,” Bossier first-year Head Coach De’Aumante Johnson said.
Butler had to sit out the first two games quarantining due to COVID-19 protocols.
While Johnson is appreciative of the job Joseph Manning did in his place, he was very happy to have Butler back. Manning returned to his wide receiver position and caught eight passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
“Having Carlos Butler back, he was the difference,” Johnson said. “The kid is just special. He knows the game so well it’s unreal. It feels so good to have him back.”
Jalen Thornton, Sedric Applewhite and Marquis Harris also caught touchdown passes. Bre’Lin Harris returned an interception for a touchdown.
Thornton had a big game with 12 catches for 130 yards. Harris finished with six catches for 108 yards.
The Bossier defense played its third straight solid game.
Christian Johnson led the Bearkats in tackles with eight, including two for loss. He also blocked a punt.
Jakarvis Guice had 7.5 tackles and Cameron Carradine had seven. Bre’Lin Harris had 5.5 tackles in addition to his interception.
Also contributing were Christian Serrano (4.5 tackles), Jemario Collins (4 tackles, interception), Applewhite (3 tackles, 2 for loss, one sack), Kameron Manning (3.5 tackles), Lebrandon Davis (3 tackles), Jay Smith (3 tackles), McDonald (2 tackles), D’Angelo Garner (2 tackles) and DJ Rashon (1 tackle).
Three games into his first season, Johnson likes how the team has progressed. He was particularly pleased with the improvement he saw in his offense Friday. Of course, Butler’s debut had something to do with that.
“We still have a lot of holes to fill,” he said. “Offensively, I think we’re getting better. We’re progressing offensively. On the back end we still need a little more work but offensively we are getting better and better.”
Bossier continues non-district play Friday against North Caddo at Memorial Stadium. The Titans (2-1) defeated Bolton 50-14 Friday night.
